I think I'm the only mystery reader who hadn't already read Louise Penny, and I don't know why that is. I really like what she's doing here and I'm thrilled there are a million more Inspector Gamache books out there still to enjoy!

audio

I couldn't put this mystery down. I loved the character development and the background of a sleepy Quebec town. I can't wait to read more of Penny's Inspector Gamache series!

3.5 stars

A quiet detective novel, where the clues are found by observation, that got me chuckling at times, rather than a nerve-racking thriller, which was refreshing. I also liked the fact that I got attached to the characters quite quickly. The Three Pines village seems like quaint place.

It was also interesting to get an anglophone's point of view of the Quebecois culture and the French-English relationships in the province. But I have to admit that the many, many mistakes in the little bits of French that are scattered here and there are frustrating and, honestly, disrespectful (it's not like it's very hard to find a French proofreader in the only francophone province in this country...).

I found this book just OK. Not terribly gripping. I MAY try another one as I love a series and heard they get better...but I am not rushing to the next book!

I couldn't put this one down. The characters are all very well done, even the ones that aren't particularly likable. Agent Nichol was a great example of a self-centered terrible person. I sincerely hope she isn't in any of the future books, because I definitely want to read them. I really enjoyed reading about Jane's art though, and I suspect it takes its inspiration from Maud Lewis.

Spoiler

The completely painted interior of the house was definitely similar.

I remember seeing Lewis' house at the Art Gallery in Halifax, and it was very cool.

Entertaining who done it. Loved the town’s cast of characters. However, when I went to read the second of the series, I didn’t want to read about them anymore. I just wanted the inspector. Couldn’t finish # 2 and probably won’t read anymore.

It took me a little while to get into this book, but I enjoyed it as a slightly-darker-than-cozy mystery. Not a difficult mystery for the reader to solve, but a well-developed setting and interesting (and believable) characters.